Many endurance athletes have a low resting heart rate, which can be misinterpreted by insurance companies as a heart abnormality. A low resting heart rate is one of a number of common training-related ECG alterations which are physiological adaptations to regular exercise and considered normal variants in athletes. A low resting heart rate in an athlete is actually a sign of better risk.

However, studies show that runners have a 30% lower risk of overall death.

Older marathon runners have up to a 50% decreased risk of heart disease.

Training for a marathon leads to 5% lower cholesterol and a 4% increase in cardiorespiratory fitness in just 18 weeks.

Insurance companies use family history to evaluate your risk. One metric used is the age at which a family member has passed away from a disease. The earlier the death of a family member, the higher your rate will be. Carriers establish a threshold age for considering a death “early” — for example, most carriers consider any death from heart disease before the age of 60 to be early.

Health IQ recognizes that family history is not destiny and has pushed carriers to lower the threshold age for our customers living a healthy lifestyle — in the case of heart disease, from 60 years old to 55 years old. We were able to accomplish this by uncovering science like the following:

50% lower risk of coronary artery disease

Across four studies involving 55,685 participants, a healthy lifestyle was associated with a nearly 50% lower relative risk of coronary artery disease among those at high genetic risk.

Preventing Diabetes

More than 90% of type 2 diabetes cases are potentially preventable by following a healthful diet, having a BMI of ≤25 kg/m2, exercising for at least 30 minutes a day, avoiding smoking, and consuming alcohol in moderation.

Healthy Lifestyle Trumps Breast Cancer

The degree of benefit from healthy behaviors has been shown to be the same for women with or without a family history of breast cancer.

Triglyceride/HDL ratio is a better predictor of cardiovascular disease. It is possible to have total cholesterol in 220-260 range with little risk of atherosclerosis if HDL high and TG low.

Meta-analysis reviews show across studies that a low-carbohydrate diet improves markers of cardiovascular and type 2 diabetes risk factors. Overall, the benefits outweigh any apparent rise in LDL cholesterol, as HDL tends to increase and triglycerides decrease.

The height/weight ratio used for BMI doesn’t address body composition and leads to misclassification of strength athletes into weight classes that the insurance industry considers risky. That’s because BMI measures excess weight relative to height— not excess fat.

That’s why Health IQ has pushed our carriers for a “BMI buffer” for our health conscious clients. For example if the limit for the preferred plus rate category for someone 5'9" is 198 lbs, our health conscious client can still get the preferred plus rate category at 208 lbs.

HDL cholesterol levels below 6.0 for men and 5.0 for women or in some cases 4.0 for the best rates are standard for many carriers. However, a growing body of research is revealing that blood cholesterol level is not the biggest predictor of heart disease, especially for people who are on low-carb diets eating a higher proportion of nutrients from healthy fats and protein.

That’s why Health IQ has pushed our carriers to keep rates the same for our health-conscious customers but allow cholesterol levels up to 5.5 for our preferred customers and as high as 6.0 for women and 6.5 for men for our standard plus customers.

High blood pressure

To qualify for the best rates, health insurance carriers often require a blood pressure below 130/80. However, for a health conscious person who is living a healthy lifestyle every day, this may not be the most important consideration for heart disease risk.

That's why Health IQ has pushed our carriers to keep rates the same for our preferred customers with a blood pressure of 150/90, and as high as 155/95 for our standard plus customers.

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Have Questions? We’ve got you covered!

Life insurance is an insurance that will pay out a sum of money to a beneficiary of the insured—usually a family member—upon the death of the insured. The price for life insurance is normally based on the age, health, and expected longevity of the person applying for life insurance. In exchange for a fixed monthly or annual payment, that policy is a promise from the insurance carrier that they will pay your beneficiaries a set amount if you pass away before the end of the term.

The goal of insuring one’s life is to ensure that loved ones do not financially struggle as a result of an early passing of an important family member. Life insurance is not designed to help yourself, but instead, to help reduce the hardships that a family experiences if someone they depend upon financially passes prematurely.

Health IQ believes that health conscious people are overpaying for life insurance. We are the only broker that offers special rates based on health knowledge and active lifestyles/diets like running, cycling, swimming, weightlifting, yoga, vegetarianism and veganism. Taking active control of your health is hard work, and we believe in rewarding you.

The short answer is "it depends." Every person has a different need, depending on their unique financial and family situation. But in general, you can find a good estimate by calculating your long term debts and financial obligations and then subtracting any savings, investments, or assets you have. Your ideal coverage amount should be enough to fill that gap. Most financial advisors recommend that you should have coverage for at least 7-10x of your annual income.

Term life is the most popular and affordable type of life insurance. It provides coverage for a specific number of years, usually between 10-30 years. You make fixed monthly, quarterly, or annual premium payments to keep it active. If you pass away during the covered term, the pre-determined coverage amount is paid out in full. Almost all of our clients find that this type of policy is the best fit. Ideally, your family’s needs for coverage will end close to when your policy expires: your kids are through college, your mortgage is fully paid, etc.However with term life you also have the flexibility to renew or convert at the end of the term if you need to. Permanent (whole life) insurance provides protection for life. The premium remains the same and coverage amount is guaranteed no matter how long you live. Since it never expires, the annual cost is significantly more expensive than term. There are several types of permanent life policies that provide added investment components, but these are more complicated to buy and come with additional fees and expenses. Unlike term, permanent life insurance requires a longer commitment. There is significantly less flexibility if your needs change.

Probably not. Group policies are often a “one size fits all” option that cover only 1-2x your annual salary. Most financial advisors recommend you have at least 10-15x. If you should leave this employer, you also most likely can’t take the coverage with you. Additionally, the choice of plan and carrier are made by the employer, which means that the policy may not be a good fit for your unique health and lifestyle profile.

There is only one reason your life insurance policy can ever be cancelled — if you stop paying the premiums. Once the policy is put into place, the insurance carrier is required to cover you at the same rate for the duration of the term. You are able to cancel your policy at your own will at any time.

*Estimated rates and savings are non-binding, subject to change, and based on a hypothetical customer profile that may be different than yours. Your specific rate and savings will vary based on individual circumstances, including age, gender, height, weight, health, location, issuing insurer, coverage amount, time of purchase, and other factors. For more information on how we calculate estimated rates and savings, please see our Advertising Disclosures.